


Infinite

by tocasia



Series: Our Shining Past [31]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Collateral Damage, Delicious Cheesecake, Gen, Materia, Reflect, Sephiroth and Zack friendship, always give gifts to your friends, always looking out for your friends, friendship rings, game mechanics, it's always Tuesday, marbles, poor decisions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-29 02:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12620624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tocasia/pseuds/tocasia
Summary: Zack did not know they were reflect rings.(98. game, reflect) for Seph&Zack Friendship 100 Themes





	Infinite

Today was Tuesday. Among other things, that meant that the fancy upper-level cafeteria's Daily Special was strawberry cheesecake, which was not to be missed for all the world. Zack sat alone at his table watching the flocks of tired, hopeful employees shuffle in. He'd gotten here early to reserve his piece. So had Scarlet.

Upon seeing her, the grizzled old man behind the counter looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. Zack sympathized. Scarlet was usually rude. Honestly, what was her deal?

Sensing that she'd achieved a captive audience, she said, "Yeah, I got one for her, too! Isn't it _gorgeous?_ We're kindred spirits."

It was the latest fad. Friendship rings were in style in Midgar this season, and Scarlet was showing hers off to anyone who would listen. It was a little too flashy for Zack's taste. He took another bite of his cheesecake. Now _that_ was delicious.

The rings represented a promise of eternal friendship, or anything you wanted them to, really. Nobody on the street minded if you wore one, regardless of sex or gender or relationship status, and they were okay to wear on whichever finger you liked. It was cute.

Zack thought of the two rings jingling around in his pocket. He'd bought one for himself and one for Seph. Both were shiny metal bands stamped with initials inside. No one else would bother to give Sephiroth such a frivolous thing, or expect him to accept it. Which just showed how little they knew their General. Seph would _love_ having a reminder that he wasn't alone, and he'd immediately put it on his right hand index finger to symbolize affiliation, leadership, power, and authority (well, that's what it was supposed to mean, and Zack probably wouldn't have to mention it), because Sephiroth believed in symbolism and had an ego problem, and he'd be pleased that Zack planned, dared! to wear his the same way.

Zack put the rest of the cheesecake in a box to go.

* * *

That afternoon, Zack gathered his wits about him on his way to the training field, enjoying the bright sunny warmth of the day but resisting the comfortable sleepiness it brought with it. It was time for his weekly duel with the General, and for that, he'd have to be as alert as possible. He'd never won yet, but maybe someday. It could be today, even. Sephiroth wasn't invulnerable, invincible, or unbeatable. He was just very, very good at what he did, and part of that was convincing everyone that he was those things. Seph wouldn't be actively trying to kill him; he'd be using the replica sword, not the real Masamune. Zack would also be holding back.

The bleachers were already packed with the usual assortment of SOLDIERS and recruits, and there was a rotation of assigned teams demonstrating group tactics before the main event. Sephiroth was watching the melee with interest.

"Clear the field." Sephiroth had noticed Zack's arrival. His order was obeyed instantly, eagerly. There were cheers.

These friendly spars were not supposed to escalate to bleacher-destroying proportions, but as an extra precaution, Zack ordered a couple of SOLDIERS to keep the spectators under control and the Walls protecting the bleachers up.

"Choosing your Second, Fair?"

"Very funny." "Sir," he amended.

Long ago, they'd agreed Zack would set the pace, and so traditionally he made the first move, whether he had Pre-emptive equipped or not.

"I'll win this time!" Zack said with his usual stage enthusiasm.

Sephiroth was amused by the challenge. "Oh? Then show me."

The General had chosen a two-handed stance, sword raised horizontal at his shoulder and pointed directly at his opponent to make it harder for them to guess his reach for the wide-arced slashing style he preferred.

Zack held the Buster Sword in a loose grip in front of him, ready for anything.

He had to be careful: an obvious charge here would get him nowhere. Well, not exactly. It'd get him brutally tossed aside with disgust, like last week. Sephiroth was studying him, probably predicting his every thought, just as Zack was trying to do. And he was apparently getting impatient, because he'd angled his sword to reflect the brilliant sunlight towards Zack's eyes. Nope! He knew that trick. He wouldn't be dazzled so easily!

But Seph had his gloves off, and he was wearing the ring, and the reflection from _it_ was blinding. How very like him, to thank you for a useful gift by using it against you at the first opportunity. Even Sephiroth's genuine appreciation was a weapon. Did he know that? Focus, Zack! It was never an accident. Sephiroth meant to distract him, not only with the glare, but with his own thoughts. Always so many layers to his games.... He was losing his chance for the first attack....

Blinking away the spots, Zack circled warily, trying to think of a plan, while Sephiroth stood still, blatantly displaying his arrogance.

When Sephiroth finally moved, it was _fast_. Zack dodged one of his ...playful... strikes. The next one, he blocked with the broad edge of his blade. The force of the collision made his hands tingle. He was ready for the third jab, though, which, when it did come, was not so fierce. It had been one-handed. So, maybe if he pushed hard at _this_ angle, and stayed to the right... he'd have to be quick though, no more thinking. He just had to make sure his neck was where the sword wasn't. Deflect, forward, vertical slice upwards... Yes! He'd gotten inside Seph's defenses unscathed....

Sephiroth turned and slammed Masamune's hilt across his throat, sending him reeling, choking, to the ground.

The General didn't threaten to claim victory then, no, he was waiting for Zack to get up. Zack scowled at him, and saw the thin red line on Sephiroth's cheek. He'd landed the first hit! He'd drawn first blood. Too rapidly, fear he should ignore overcame his surge of pride. As per the rules of their duel (which could probably use some editing), Sephiroth was now within his rights to make him bleed as well. And he'd wasted no time taking his due. Zack hadn't felt, hadn't even _seen_ the strike, until the numbness from his SOLDIER healing drew his attention to the long gash on his forearm, the kind that easily could have kept going towards his body, but had been checked. It was deeper than the wound he'd inflicted on Sephiroth, who smirked.

Instead of leaping back and giving him the advantage of reach again, Zack gritted his teeth and launched himself at his foe, an explosive two-handed charge, as fast as he could make it. He got lucky; Sephiroth hadn't expected that. Good, he wouldn't expect this either! During the approach, Zack took a hand off the Buster Sword's hilt and lunged to deliver a solid punch to the General's left wrist above the bangle, the sudden shock weakening his grip so that when Zack struck Sephiroth's blade with his own, in a burst of strength, he sent the replica Masamune flying outwards and away. This close, he heard Sephiroth's sharp intake of breath and saw the brief flash of darkness behind his eyes as he willed himself not to summon the real one to replace it.

Then Sephiroth's right fist connected with Zack's lower back, barely missing the kidney, and knocked him towards the spectators, spraying the nearest with dirt from his fall.

Zack regained his footing and advanced, but Sephiroth had already executed an elegant roll to retrieve the sword, and brought it up in time to block Zack's downward cut. Damn! His heavy blow repelled, he had to readjust his balance, which left an opening for Sephiroth, still prone, to twist and aim a sweeping slice at his legs that, in other circumstances, might remove the need for boots entirely....

...but in their weekly spars, Zack usually sustained only superficial wounds and bruises from crash landings. At least at this level, where he'd stuck to basic attacks. He hadn't cast anything yet. It was easier for Zack to get hurt when he took their fight in that direction, because it was harder for Sephiroth to pull the spells. But he'd been practicing his magic too, and so far things had been going pretty well....

* * *

Fair must be feeling more confident. He'd improved from last week.

Oh? He was changing his stance.

There was the slight shift in pressure, the pale glow beyond visible light, while his opponent sought the knowledge locked in the materia. The faintest hint of Mako, a whispering idea of possibility, of _power_ , of... _Ice_. Stronger, intense. Ice 3.

So that's how this would be.

Sephiroth considered his response. He had plenty of time to prepare his own spell before the coruscating pulse that anyone could see radiated outwards from Zack.

The magical energy coalesced around his decision, building the waves of potential he'd unleash as Quake 3. There was no question of control; the bleachers would survive.

He braced himself for the bitter, crackling cold.

* * *

Zack noticed the telltale flickering incandescence surrounding the General, too, and recognized the spell. He readied himself to get in the air to avoid the worst of the Quake, or at least control his fall, and if he was lucky with that he could score a counterattack before Sephiroth decided whether or not to cast again....

Ice 3 summoned bladelike translucent shards from all directions, gravitating flawlessly inward to their target, to impale and then solidify into an encapsulating shell, its prisoner to be shattered by the freezing collapse....

His aim was perfect! Sephiroth would have felt that.

Less than a second later, light poured out of the ground, a cylinder reaching the sky. Soil rose up in the center, and exploded into rough, brown, branching rock crystal, which instantly broke to crush him with shrapnel.

His dodge was too slow, he was caught right in the middle of it! He winced... but the hit never came.

Zack's ring flared to life, activating its triggered defense.

Three sequential, neon green crescents drifted out from him, accompanied by that dreaded sound you learned when you took that intermediate materia class. Reflect.

He saw the same effect envelop Sephiroth.

And then everything went to hell.

* * *

The reflected spells had none of their caster's finesse. Targets chosen at random, the combination of Ice and Quake totaled the bleachers. Screams and cries of panic drowned out the blossoming, high-pitched shrieks of the impending second round of dangerous, unwelcome magic.

Zack heard the General shout orders about 'triage' and 'damage control' and 'evacuate' and 'don't follow', and then Seph grabbed his arm and pulled him away. More like dragged. Not quite carried, but he was running.

They were at the far edge of the field, a safe distance from anyone else, when Sephiroth let him go.

"Did you do this on purpose, Fair?"

"No sir. I'm sorry." It was true.

There was no sign of further suspicion. Seph believed him. Phew.

"An accident then. I should have known. Your plans always miraculously turn out better than this."

"Thanks. I think."

* * *

Sephiroth fought the urge to leap away from the (seventeenth maybe? he'd lost count) Quake 3 manifesting beneath his feet. Though it wouldn't currently harm him, standing in the circle of yellow-green light was disconcerting. The lack of action writhed with wrongness. His second-in-command was similarly unsettled by the strange incorporeality of Ice 3's piercing crystalline projectiles.

Zack said, "If we go farther apart, will the reflections stop?"

Unfortunately, that wouldn't work. He hoped Zack wouldn't ask him how he knew. "No. If we do that, the spells will tear through any intervening obstacles, including walls and recruits. It would be a disaster. Unless, you _do_ want to destroy Shinra HQ today?"

"No sir." Zack flinched. Couldn't he tell it was a joke?

"Stay close to me to minimize collateral damage while we think of something. Sit."

The worst of the carnage surrounding the ex-bleachers had calmed down, leaving a few of the soldiers more curious than afraid. They'd seen Sephiroth and Zack sitting casually together. It would be hard not to, with the constant magical catastrophe circling them. Outside of combat, the spell effects were surprisingly beautiful. He didn't often get the chance to concentrate on that. It was a nice day, too.

Suddenly Zack was smiling innocently at him. Uh oh. "Hey Seph, did you hear that?"

He listened past the growing cacophony with some effort.

One of the meandering Thirds said to a gaggle of starry-eyed cadets, with the surety of rumor, "Admit it, right? There's something between those two."

They didn't only mean the spells bouncing back and forth, of course. Zack grinned, no doubt enjoying the idea. Sephiroth rolled his eyes.

"Zack, how long until Reflect wears off?"

Amazing. Zack actually looked embarrassed.

"It doesn't, does it."

* * *

They sat there for a while. The sky was clear. The continual exchange of ethereal devastation kicked up a breeze.

Zack thought of another potential solution. "Aren't there some types of Reflect that fade after enough spells rebound?"

"There are, yes."

"So maybe all we have to do is..."

He saw Zack begin to cast Bolt.

Sephiroth considered voicing an objection. This was not going to end well.

He couldn't fathom why, but he cast his own Fire, choosing a weaker version just in case.

A single lightning strike materialized above his head and tried to smother him with residual blue static bursts. It failed, shunted towards Zack instead.

The small, comforting plume of flame was likewise redirected back at him harmlessly.

Several repetitions later, there was no change in the reflective barriers. Although, they may have discovered a new art form. Zack's eyes glimmered with mischief as he added a fifth spell to the mix; it was impossible to identify with the others still active. No, this was _not_ going to end well. If Zack thought it was hilarious to take advantage of this chance to cast at his General with relative impunity, there was no reason _he_ couldn't also target his Lieutenant General in the same fashion....

* * *

They could no longer pick out individual effects in the maelstrom. The kaleideoscopic variety was stunning.

"How many materia do you carry around, anyway?"

"Enough to play marbles with, as Rufus once commented."

"Did you?"

"Yes." Sephiroth smiled wickedly at the memory.

"Ha! What did you win?"

"Never being asked to play marbles with Rufus again."

"Damn, them's some high stakes!" Zack cackled and sent another Bolt zinging in his direction.

"Are you _sure_ you didn't do this on purpose? You're having way too much fun, Zack."

There was a lasting ripple between them, like the air over hot pavement.

With incredible nerve, Zack said, "You know, this isn't one of the best ideas we've ever had."

'We' was definitely questionable in this case, but Sephiroth simply nodded. He wasn't exactly blameless, either.

* * *

At this point, it was really no surprise that there were no bystanders to suggest that maybe, just maybe, they could settle this with physical attacks. Zack didn't blame himself for not thinking of it earlier.

"Won't the cycle break if one of us gets KO'd?"

Sephiroth looked at him appraisingly. Yikes. "I doubt you could work up the energy to take me out right now."

Okay, that was probably true; Zack couldn't beat him like this. He was tired. His thoughts were getting fuzzy in the midst of the omnipresent noise, which had evolved to a chaotic, mind-numbing static.

"Heh." Sephiroth shook his head. "You did better than you think, in our little duel. It wouldn't be trivial for me to incapacitate you either. And even then, we don't know what would happen. The spells might go out of control and find new random targets, or with nothing else in range, all of them might converge on whomever wasn't KO'd."

"Huh. Thanks. So, if the KO strategy is too risky, what do we do?"

* * *

"I have a plan." Sephiroth was feeling slightly dizzy himself.

"What is it?"

"I will put some distance between us and remove my ring, while you keep yours equipped. My Reflect will fade, but I'll still be the target of and take the damage from the spells. As long as I remain conscious throughout, the chain will end. Even if I don't, the overall threat will be significantly reduced."

Zack shot him a nervous glance. "You're volunteering to get hit with all _this_ _?_ "

"I can handle it." Hopefully.

"That's a horrible plan."

What? Zack shouldn't refuse what he was offering! He wouldn't offer it to any other!

"Do I have to order you to let me protect you?" It was supposed to be gentle.

For a moment, the roaring vortex of magic flew around them uninterrupted.

"Protect me, that's no problem. I appreciate that. But yeah, you would have to order me to stay back if you meant to sacrifice yourself. And I won't listen. So..."

"So, you'll do what?" It came out as a snarl. "Don't try to take my place. It won't work. You're not strong enough. You're already exhausted."

"That's not what I was going to say, Seph. I'm not letting you go through this alone. It was my mistake."

"Yes, it was."

"Then?"

"Help me cast the Cures. We will remove the rings at the same time."

"Yessir. One more thing: I'm pretty sure I cast Toad somewhere in there."

Sephiroth threw his hands in the air. He really should have known better. He wasn't sure if that applied to him or to Zack. Probably both.

"Then whichever one of us ends up as a frog, the other will carry to the appropriate apartment."

"Yessir."

The vibrant red, green, and blue sparkles of Cure 3 joined the roiling storm.

* * *

Having taken sufficient steps to exclude Zack from the inevitable blast radius, Sephiroth turned his back. It would hurt. His friend didn't need to see his face.

He ought to be able to endure this, though it would be a close thing. Splitting the damage with Zack would help, but he hadn't wanted.... No, he was grateful.

With a deep breath, he prepared mentally for the pain that restorative magic wouldn't immediately fix. There were a _lot_ of spells. He was about to suffer serious injury. For a while, his body wouldn't believe it was whole and would continue sending alarm signals for a danger that wasn't real. Not real.... He shouldn't have to feel that pain! There should be no one he'd make such a sacrifice for! He....

Sephiroth took off the ring, and motioned for Zack to do the same.

* * *

Zack gripped a phoenix down tightly in one hand and his ring in the other and watched with mounting dread the explosions that seemed to go on forever around them both. Ice, Lightning, Poison, Quake... Shiva's tits, it hurt! Not only Seph's spells, either. His own were stronger than he'd expected. Guess he could be proud of that, anyway.

He shoved aside the sneaking, guilty wish that he should've just let Sephiroth handle it.

Seph would be okay now, right? Almost certainly.

* * *

The blast knocked him hard against the cracked earth. Was that the last one? He'd managed to stay conscious and now the cycle of Reflect was broken. Relieved, Sephiroth counted it as a win and closed his eyes and pretended to not be himself. It was good he'd asked Zack to get him home. Heh! A present of rings, and then to be carried over a threshold into an apartment... as a frog! 'And they lived happily ever after....' He must be delirious.

He regretted the foolishness of the situation, but not his decisions.

* * *

Zack staggered through the frosty rubble, avoiding the deepest chasms rending the field.

The magical energy was dispersing, becoming quiet, and so far no more of it had rebounded on him. The rippling distortion and static whirlwinds of noisy dust were starting to disappear, along with the burning Mako smell.

He'd made it. Was Seph alright?

Cautiously, Zack hurried to the edge of the newly-formed, medium-sized smoking crater, descended, and cast another Cure on the small green frog in the center. He accepted a ribbit of thanks and held out his hand so Sephiroth could hop onto it.

"Damn, Seph. I think that was the first time I've ever beaten you." He meant it sort of as a joke.

He hadn't known a frog could glare like that.

* * *

Finally, they had both recovered enough to not reflexively recoil at the abstract concept of injury itself.

There would _not_ be a repeat of this.

"We will never wear these again," Sephiroth told Zack, allowing no argument. He planned to melt the rings down. The silvery metal dripping through his fingers and sizzling to the ground would be beautiful....

He'd expected it, but Zack's disappointed frown bothered him. Maybe a little kindness wouldn't hurt. A second chance, perhaps. He softened his expression. "It was a nice gesture. Find us a new pair in a different style. Less reflective."

"No."

"No?"

"Nope. It's not going to be _all_ my fault next time. I'll pick one out for you and you pick one out for me."

A friendship promise born from shared responsibility. Hmm. "Agreed."

* * *

A few days later...

Zack tore open the neatly wrapped package. "Seph, this is perfect! Thanks!"

Of course it was. "To protect you while I am away. If even only in thought."

Zack reached into a pocket, found the gift meant for him, and offered it.

Oh. "You got this from Rocket Town."

Zack nodded. "Yeah, I figured you'd like it, and I know you hardly ever go there, so...."

"Thank you," Sephiroth said.

As soon as he touched it, he felt peace.

**Author's Note:**

> In the original game, Reflect can become infinite and cause a crash. It doesn't work anything like what happens in this story, though. Normally, Reflect from the spell or Mirror usable item only works 4 times, and the permanent Reflect from the ring can only reflect one ability per turn. But... if you use the W-item command to use a Mirror and then a Vaccine on a character, and then do the same to a monster, the Resist status from the Vaccine will prevent Reflect from fading after 4 hits. So you can reflect infinite times each turn, which makes the game freeze.
> 
> Zack got Sephiroth a peace ring. It prevents the statuses Berserk, Confusion, Fury, and Sadness.
> 
> Sephiroth gave Zack a protect ring. It grants the wearer constant Barrier and MBarrier.


End file.
